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Obesity epidemic could overwhelm health care system.

Article Excerpt
Forget about SARS. There is another epidemic, one with far more immediate and long-time health and financial consequences, that isn't caused by a virus and affects millions of Americans. The epidemic is obesity.

The culprits? A society where food is cheap, plentiful, tasty, readily available and wrapped around all different types of social events. Add to that the increasingly sedentary American lifestyle, and the result is the most overweight generation ever seen.

"One thing we try to do is educate the public -- children, families and communities -- that it really is an epidemic," said Victor D. Sutton, office director of health promotions for the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH). "We must look at vehicles to address the problem."

The average weight of both children and adults in the U.S. is increasing, and Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation. Sutton reels off a long list of serious health problems that result from being overweight: high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, gallbladder disease, lower back problems, arthritis and cancer.

Despite the burden on people's health and the resulting strain on the health care system, America's weight problem is a tough nut to crack. If current trends hold, things will get worse before they get better.

Starting early

Overweight children usually become overweight adults. And since behavior patterns are most difficult to change after they have been established in childhood, Sutton believes one...

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